UEFA Champions League 2023: Manchester City Hammer Real Madrid 4-0 To Reach Final

Manchester City are three games away from making history. And after Wednesday’s shock defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals, Pep Guardiola’s march to a treble of trophies looks unstoppable. “We are. We can imagine it, imagine it,” said the City manager after his team’s 4-0 win at the Etihad Stadium.

After drawing the first leg 1-1, Madrid’s undisputed kings of Europe were subdued and barring the efforts of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, the score line could have been much worse for the 14-time champions.

City feel like an irresistible force as they inch closer to the Premier League, Champions League 2023 and FA Cup titles. It was certainly too hot to handle for Madrid as Bernardo Silva scored twice in the first half, Eder Militão scored an own goal after the break and Julián Álvarez added in time to seal a 5–1 aggregate victory. Put it on

A night to remember for Man City, captured by @oppo ,#UCLshots pic.twitter.com/yhtFrol6JA– UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) May 17, 2023

Madrid have come back from the brink on several occasions over the past two seasons, but this one was too big a challenge. After beating the defending European champions, City will be favored to do the same with Inter Milan in the final in Istanbul on 10 June.

A win against Chelsea on Sunday would secure a third straight league title and stand in the way of Manchester United reaching the FA Cup final. United are the only English team to have won all three major trophies in one season – doing so in 1999.

City have already overtaken their Manchester rivals as the dominant force in English football and can now emulate their greatest achievement. “We are close and of course we are going to try,” Guardiola said.

City go in search of their maiden Champions League title, while Guardiola is aiming to win it for the third time as coach. At times, it seemed that the pressure was too great for a team that had been consistently victorious in domestic competition on Europe’s biggest stage. While City’s quality has rarely been in question during Guardiola’s seven years in charge, its temperament in the Champions League has been.

On too many occasions it fell short when the heat was on – losing to underdogs like Monaco, Lyon and Tottenham. It was almost in complete command of the two-legged semi-final against Madrid last year but managed to lose after conceding a two-goal lead going into the last few minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu.

However, it never looked likely on this occasion, as City provided further proof that they are finally ready to lift the one trophy that has eluded them. “After 10 or 15 minutes I realized that one season, one year, all that pain that happened last season was today,” Guardiola said. “It was really tough to lose the way we lost and I think we had to swallow the poison. Football always gives you another chance.”

Carlo Ancelotti described Madrid as a team with “special powers to survive”.

“We played against an opponent who deserved to win,” said Ancelotti. He added, “They played with more intensity, more quality than before and they took their chances. They were better than us today, we were better last year.

After being dominated by Madrid for long periods in the first leg last week, City took control from the start in front of their own fans. Erling Haaland had two clear chances to score before Bernardo’s opening goal – seeing a header twice saved by Courtois. With the crowds rising to every city challenge, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before the home team found their breakthrough – and it came in the 23rd minute.

After denying Haaland twice, Courtois could not keep out Bernardo, who raced onto Kevin De Bruyne’s pass before firing over the near post. The sense of relief was unmistakable – as much from Guardiola as anyone else in the stadium as he turned to the crowd, pumping double fists and blowing kisses towards the supporters.